Gabriel Paulista takes the pulse of Arsene Wenger before the return of Arsenal in Europa League

Gabriel Paulista remains convinced that he deserves more opportunities to carve out a place as the first regular first team team at Arsenal.

Aged 28, the 28-year-old joined Villarreal in January 2015 after a £ 13.5 million deal after StatDNA, the US data badyst, introduced the Brazilian as a player with huge potential.

Gabriel, however, struggled to get rid of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker. He settled in Valencia in the summer of 2017 after a serious knee injury which cost him a chance to figure in the final victory of the England Cup against Chelsea.

Arsenal used the money generated by his sale to buy Shkodran Mustafi and Gabriel believes he was unfairly treated during his stay in North London before returning with Valencia in the first semi-final of the Europa League Thursday.

"Playing for Arsenal has been an incredible experience that I will never forget," he said.

"I want to make history with Valencia. It is the year of the centenary and, in 100 years, I want to remind that Gabriel Paulista won the Europa League with Valencia.

"I like these types of games and the kind of pressure that comes with playing against teams like Arsenal. I'm ready to do a good job and help the club go as far as possible in the competition.

"With all due respect to Arsenal, I have nothing to prove to them. I tried to prove my value but I did not have the chance.

"I deserved more opportunities. I was sad because I knew that I had the ability to play … But the others did not think so. "